Another Rap Show
Sketchbook 12/05/2024
Secret Pour, BK NY
Featuring:
Ira Gut
ÄX and Beat Real
qnorapname
blackchai
DUNN
It's below freezing and I'm taking an e-bike to the show. No gloves and I'm bumping Marci - park the shit outside Ornithology and walk a few blocks, blowing on my hands. Try to regain feeling in the fingertips.
Citibike has often been the most convenient method for me to get around Brooklyn, but the recent chill is far from the only thing that's got me thinking about them differently. Unlike hopping turnstiles, there's no easy way to circumvent CitiBank's escalating fees, all of which contribute to gentrification, aesthetic homogeneity, tactile alienation, and the continued funding of a centuries-old predatory financial institution that [amongst lots of other bullshit] continues to be one of the banks holding Haiti at financial gunpoint and interminable debt...[1] plus all the recent hubbub, of course. Our city's very own vigilante, the daring escape...
hear [CEO] got shot, say good. go home, think on that later.
The city pigeons that usually pepper the underside of the are nowhere to be seen, even they've found warmer spots to roost. Off Broadway, the corner bar with the secret door sits, the benches outside usually host to smoke and chatter barren.
1114 Dekalb Ave
It's a different story once I step inside. At 8:30 on a Thursday it's warm and crowded, a mix of regulars and heads clearly there for the show. I take the not-so-secret door and step into soundcheck - couple of artists milling about, as well as the organizers of our evening.
Dunce bounces back and forth, a wide smile on his face. According to his last record, he's a man with "two jobs, three hobbies, and then no purpose". It's not entirely clear where Another Rap Show fits within that but it's undoubtably an impressive feather in the cap of this Queens-based rapper, producer, videographer, animator, and owner-of-couch-for-touring-mcs-to-crash-on.
The first act spits a couple of one-twos into the system as the other half of the show's founding duo twiddles with the mixer. New Jersey-based MC and beatmaker Nahreally is one of the chillest guys i've met out here - laid-back, observant, and wittily referential in both conversation and on the mic. Plus he's tireless as an organizer - setting up sound at the start and putting the chairs and tables back at the end. At the moment I turn to say hi, he's balanced perilously utop a barstool, reaching up to adjust the ceiling-mounted speaker.
I say what's up to them both.
Duncecap and Nahreally, ringmasters of this evening…not the happiest w. the likenesses on this one but the drawing’s like three inches across, what can ya do.
The two Mikes, i chuckle to myself. Two multifaceted artists in their own right, real East Coast indie stalwarts, come together to curate a bimonthly showcase of hip-hop talent. This is Another Rap Show 8 - the third one I've attended, the second one I'm drawing at. Eight shows over nearly two years is no small feat for an independent venture, especially with zero repeats in artists featured. Even the relatively recent slice I've been able to experience has impressed me with the range of artistry these guys are able to summon from across the NYC and beyond.
Nothing flashy. Secret Pour is a corner bar on the border between Bedstuy and Bushwick, more oft home to krunk karaoke and first-timer standup routines - rap and freestyling in the rotation but definitely not a focus of the spot. But thanks to Dunce and Nahreally's due diligence and nose for otherground activity, one Thursday every two months this dive plays host to a stacked bill of avant-garde producers, independent tour veterans, promising up-and-comers, the odd underground titan, and tonight is lining up to be no exception.
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As usual it takes a little while for things to really kick off, but folks trickle in at a steady pace, and by the time the first rapper of the night takes to the stage, the place is packed [2].
Ira Gut
Ira is, in many ways, the perfect opener for Another Rap Show.
Talking to him briefly after the show, I found out that despite never meeting, we've attended a bunch of the same events - he's a fellow local indie rap head and a regular at the bar who's been at every previous A. R. S. Once Nah and Dunce found out through a mutual friend that he made music, putting him on the bill for the next show seemed like a natural move.
The crowd is bustling, the energy is good. Ira's a regular at the bar, and many of his friends are in the audience - but just cus it's a home game doesn't mean he needs the assist. Though he’s comparatively novice MC (I believe this was his first ever live performance) Ira's zany style is captivating off rip. He dips with oddball confidence into unexpected melodic pockets (at one point breaking into a genuine ballad), traipsing through foreboding and sardonic observations about the banality and terrors of everyday life.
I'm always impressed when an MC produces their own beats, and while you prolly won't find anything sonically earth-shattering, Ira's off-kilter production definitely compliments (and contrasts) lyrics that seesaws between whimsical, self-deprecating, and heartfelt in equal measure. When he talks about about "missing initials carved in brokeup concrete", emphatically repeats that you should "abandon all hope, [...] ruin your life" - over plinky, cheerful piano keys - it strikes such a particular mood and embodies a kind of expression I only really sense in truly DIY shit.
I was very glad to catch him live.
Check out Ira's latest video and single (shot by Dunce!)
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By the time the act MC took to the stage, the room was getting hot. A couple nonbelievers peeled off after the first act but things were still packed - outerwear and hoodies being shed as ÄX took to the microphone, ready to turn the heat up further.
ÄX and Beat Real
Diasporic artistry is central strand in hip-hop’s DNA so it was cool to see that represented as part of the lineup tonight. Having recently immigrated to New York from Colombia, Äx's set is almost completely in Spanish - and by no means do I trust my high-school level grasp of the language to fully grasp her lyrics, but nonetheless, threads of love, yearning, home, and dontfuckw/me energy transcend the barrier as she spits effortlessly over a wide array of production.
Some of ÄX's smoother, more lofi cuts has folks two stepping and swaying their hips which - let's be honest - is a pretty rare sight at the indie rap show. But she doesn't hesitate to let a sharper edge to her style flex on the more incisive cuts later on, bringing up fellow Colombian rapper and consummate subway-spitter Beats Real as backup on the back half of the set. Although it's sweltering by now, he raps in full scarf-and-puffer regalia (which i fw).
The first act embodied A. R.S' ties to the local community - but ÄX's set drove home such community's persistent, tangible connection to those across the world. In its little own way, this show maintains a continuum from hip hop's origins in immigrant communities to this super-niche local showcase at a corner bar half a century later. When she yells ƎИITƧƎ⅃AԳ ƎƎЯᆿ at the end of her performance, it doesn't feel performative or obligatory . Just keeping shit real.
Check out ÄX's music, and Beat Real's insta .
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A. R. S. usually has a couple of beat sets throughout the night, pulling local legends from across the board. Last few shows had Flora, Sasco, and Marcus Pinn - each prolific independent artists - and the third act and first producer of tonight continues this streak. Esteemed member of the Philly beat scene qnorapname starts setting up a bit after the applause and excited chatter following ÄX's set simmers down.
qnorapname
In person, dude is pretty taciturn, but I'm online enough to have seen a couple pretty entertaining (based) takes and the occasional snippet of fire on his twitter [3]. By the time his laptop and SP are jacked into A. R. S.'s system, folks have pissed and smoked and gotten drinks - trickling back in just in time for q to drop some heaviness on heads.
Pitched gospel samples, plunky keys weaving inquisitive melodies over bent jazz booming through the speakers - indebted to classic sample-flip tradition for sure but q clearly has a refined ear for flipping offbeat melodies and comboing acapellas. His production has real sonic backbone - anyone unfortunate enough to be caught outside during this half-hour would at least have a few block's worth of dope beats dopplering into the sub-freezing void of Broadway as consolation.
After the show, NAHreally remarks that A. R. S.'s sound quality is significantly higher than most other independent ventures - which I'm inclined to agree with. Unsurprisingly, q's set pushes it the furthest tonight, with clear, full-bodied bass that has folks's heads bobbing and appreciatively yee-yeeing throughout.[4]
I'm always glad that Nah and Dunce always throw a couple producers in the mix. Everybody featured has a respectable body of work - and nobody's showing up to just queue beats and chill. It's always a pretty involved display of live beat-wizardry, and q's no exception. Drawing him hunched over the setup [5] and dexterously freaking the 404, I couldn't help but be reminded of Kamaji, the bespectacled many-limbed boiler keeper from Spirited Away (which I hope is not too unflattering a comparison). Meticulously adjusting intricate (from my non-producer ass) machinery, feeding a growing flame of exquisite sample-based-sonics. He shouts out DOOM midway through his set - and while everyone's a fan of the mask these days, Q's music truly follows the path laid down by the villain, Dilla, Ye, and other production legends. Very glad to have caught him live.
Check out qnorapname on bandcamp .
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A. R. S. usually has a couple artists I'm familiar with. I'm always pleasantly surprised by those I'm seeing for the first time, but usually one or two folks who i've been listening to for a bit and am looking forward to peeping live.
blackchai was that guy tonight. Funnily enough i had seen him a couple times before even knowing that he made music, and the time I connected face to artist, Otherwise a Blur (his collaboration with August Fanon from earlier this year) was making a buzz in the indie rap discourse. I was pleasantly surprised to see Fanon in the crowd as well, too, a legendary producer in his own right (plus his rare duo live set with Child Actor @ Public Records w/ Shrapknel won't be leaving my memory anytime soon).
blackchai and August Fanon
Tyler's one of the heads who hangs out after events (always in a bigass coat) chopping it up about skating sponsorships or Mach's latest at Lincoln Center. Same energy as he takes to the stage tonight, rocking Carhartt, a Mannequin Pussy tshirt (shoutout Philly fr) and platform Docs. His setup is nothing but a phone, let's go.
Although he cracks jokes about fucking up and losing breath on account of his style, once on the mic dude is antifreeze-slick - just as nice in person as on record, runnin with ease through a couple of cuts off of 2023's Year Wandering, and OaB (alongside some unreleased shit). His style is a cascading barrage of disparate premonitions, afrosocialist aphorisms and Jujutsu Kaisen references [6] - which, rather than descending into indecipherable word salad or rappity-rap vocab flexing, coalesce within dense, labyrinthine pockets of verbosity from which transcendent grooves arise - phrases like "nothing eternal but the nature of self in my discernment..." and "hero's journey with no destination, making the best of any given situation" rising like bubbles of clarity amidst the chaotic stream-of-consciousness.
While the stylistic niche he operates in has caught flak as opaque and navel-gazing, blackchai blithely escapes such critique - his work at once deeply personal and broad in vision and scope. Even on first listen, it's clear that the cultural touchpoints in his references and vocal samples - including lyrical nods to the season 2 finale of Atlanta, NY indie rap legends Cannibal Ox and Armand Hammer, spoken-word poet Jayne Cortez, and a couple of genuinely hilarious anime soundbytes - stem not only from fandom and genuine appreciation, but a singular ability to derive personal agency and political consciousness through art.
His virtuosity on the mic is only amplified by his choice in production - tonight, he rocks on beats by JUNIE, a_haunted_house, and August Fanon, who's work on OaB marks it as one of my favorite records to drop this year.
Take DISSONANT STRAINS - the bare-bones, drumless orchestral progression sounds like it was plucked off a John Williams score for a movie where the bad guys are winning [7]. As soon as those horns kick in, chai is off, weaving an intricate tapestry of pragamtism and paranoia as the instrumental meanders forebodingly... Tyler told me after the show that his collaboration with Fanon felt like his easiest yet , and the effortless nature of their collaboration truly shines live. He and Fanon have captured lightning in a bottle, mad scientists that they are, and channeled it into an exquisite corpse of personal resilience, leftist solidarity, anime, and East Coast hip hop tradition. A fundamentally cold vein runs through this project, but like Shelley's monster, it can't help be shot through with heart.
View blackchai's full A. R. S. performance here. Plus bandcamp links for him and August Fanon.
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The final act of the night brings things a bit back from left field.
DUNN, a New Jersey-based underground veteran, jokes as he takes to the mic.
"It's way past my bedtime now," he laughs. "But we here, we doin' rap shit."
Indeed we are. DUNN's been in the game over a decade, but has popped off since the pandemic - diligently touring across the East Coast, putting out consistent projects and building up a strong local fanbase. He actually rapped at the very first concert I drew at in NYC, with Fatboyshaun, Los Kemet and others. Although I arrived too late to put his set to paper then, I've run into him at a couple of times since - he always hypes the art which I appreciate, and it was cool to return the energy with the sketch tonight.
DUNN
He doesn't even step on stage - folks form a circle as he styles expertly over some rugged beats, longtime fans and first-timers alike hanging on each word as he spits slick street raps - Jersey shit. The brawny, minimalistic bassline on Muscle Milk (prod. by Bailey Daniel and Stoic Beats) hits particularly hard in person, and DUNN's live presence is more animated than his concrete-steady delivery on his recorded material (which I appreciated). His work certainly belongs to a long lineage of grimy, East-Coast hustle-rap but if DUNN’s skill on the mic, dedicated fanbase and consistent presence out here is any indication, it's clear that his grind is as rooted in artistry and community as it is getting the bag.
Check out DUNN's music video for Muscle Milk and his socials.
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At some point in the middle of the show, I took a step outside for some air - the biting wind now a brief respite from the sweltering humidity inside. I wasn't out there long, but while I was, I got to chatting with the only other dude outside having a smoke. A guy sidled up to us and asked to use our phones. It was really important, he said.
We both said no. After he left, dude who I was talking to cracked a laugh and told me he'd seen that same guy run off with a phone the past three times. Like damn, you really weren't gonna tell me, huh?
He just laughs.
It's a cold world out there - sometimes I think i'm getting a little frosty, too, but then I'm hit with a warm blast of music and body heat the moment I step back inside. On the street, it's 30 degrees, phones are getting snatched, CEO's are getting capped. Funny that these rap shows are where I find my respite - but no surprise given the warm atmosphere that Nah and Dunce have built around Another Rap Show. This is my second New York winter, but my first since getting into this indie rap shit.
It’ll be a while before I get used to the cold, but I truly doubt I’ll ever become fully accustomed to the outpouring of community, artistry and collaboration I’ve found out here.
Thanks again to everyone involved, and as always, catch y'all at the next one.
⚔️
(the artist???) & credits sequence. Substack-exclusive page, thanks for reading!
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Footnotes:
[1] www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/10/05/1042518732/-the-greatest-heist-in-history-how-haiti-was-forced-to-pay-reparations-for-freed
[2] In addition to being an excellently curated show featuring artists across the east coast and beyond, every Another Rap Show is a masterclass in independent concert organization.Last October, Kiki regaled us with tales of his days touring with Big Juss - understanding which venues they could even book underground rap, taking bets on audiences that might not show up, dealing with venue organizers (and sometimes their mothers) to get paid. Not to mention reckoning with fellow artists as well.
Tonight, Nahreally breaks down the packed house: there are a few broad "tiers" of indie rappers - the folks just starting out will put in a lot of work to get their friends to come to the show; whereas the more established you get, the less you promote and the more you rely on your reputation to fill rooms. The opening act tonight is definitely in the first camp - and given that he's a known factor at the bar, it likely didn't take much to get the homies to peep his set. Thus explaining the particularly full house tonight.
[3] My personal favorite of which is this mashup of Earl's EAST and Death Grips. Scratches a specific part of my brain that i'm pretty sure was born in like, autumn of 2019.
[4] Only time I think the beats knocked as hard was when Kiki bumped some (at the time) unreleased shit with Kenny Segal at the last show. More on that in the next one...
[5] Give the artists with 404 higher tables!
[6] I think on OaB, there's literally like one per song on average haha
[7] augustfanon.bandcamp.com/album/1-1